The group inspected the first few warehouses in turn but found no obvious anomalies.
It wasn't until they reached the door of the western warehouse that Celine caught the strong scent of cleaning potion.
Hodge signaled the guards to open the main door.
Sunlight flooded into the warehouse, illuminating the empty shelves. The floor looked as though it had been repeatedly scrubbed; not even the corners had much dust left.
One of the scribes scanned the surroundings. “Everything seems fine here too.”
Victor said in a helpless tone, “I already told you, this warehouse hasn't been in use recently.”
He then looked at Alvan. “If the Rosalinds wanted to reclaim the warehouse early, they could have negotiated with the Castros through the proper channels. There was no need to disturb the Golden Scale Merchant Guild over a logbook of unknown origin.”
Alvan did not argue with him, his face still wearing a polite smile.
The logbook Celine had brought back last night only proved that the Green Shade Merchant Guild was secretly cultivating plants, but it could not prove on its own that the cultivation ground was beneath this very warehouse.
Now that the site had been cleaned overnight, the Castros were clearly prepared to shift all blame onto the source of the logbook.
Alston opened the review application.
“The application mentions that there is an underground area built here without the owner's permission.”
He turned to look at Alvan.
“Where is the entrance?”
Before Alvan could answer, Victor shook his head and said with a slight air of grievance:
“Mr. Vere, this warehouse has been standing for decades. There has never been any underground area.”
He raised his hand, gesturing for everyone to inspect as they pleased.
“Since the Castros accepted the management contract, we naturally have an obligation to maintain the warehouse. If we had really modified it without authorization, why would we allow you all to enter?”
He spoke with absolute certainty.
It seemed the mechanism from last night had already been dismantled, and the entrance resealed.
But an underground cultivation ground that had been operating for years could not be completely erased in a matter of hours.
Celine walked straight to where the entrance had been last night and pointed at her feet.
“Start tearing it up from here.”
Victor frowned in displeasure and snapped, “Are we to damage the warehouse floor based solely on your verbal accusation?”
“The warehouse belongs to the Rosalinds,” Alvan spoke up, his tone remaining gentle. “The owner has already authorized any necessary demolition and inspection in the authorization document.”
Victor wanted to say more, but Alston, after reviewing the structural blueprints, also nodded.
“Do it.”
Two guild guards fetched crowbars and began prying up the floor tiles along the spot Celine had indicated.
The first two tiles showed nothing unusual.
When the third tile was lifted, a layer of wet, unsolidified mortar was revealed beneath.
Alston knelt down and pressed it with his finger.
“Just recently sealed.”
As those three words fell, Victor's gaze toward Hodge on the side practically flared with fury.
The guards continued clearing downward and soon hit a stone slab covered in rubble and mortar.
When the entrance was opened once more, a damp, earthy odor surged up from below.
The Underground Cultivation Ground had already been emptied.
A scribe immediately stepped forward, quickly recorded the findings, and handed them to Alston.
Alston closed the logbook and said:
“The current evidence is sufficient to prove that the Castros breached the contract during their management period.”
He looked down into the underground area and covered his nose. “Continue the inspection. See if there are any smuggled goods.”
Just as the two guards were about to go down, hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the warehouse.
A young man wearing a Golden Scale Merchant Guild badge walked in quickly.
He first showed Alston a small golden token, then leaned down to whisper a few words into his ear.
Celine could not hear the exact details.
She only saw Alston's hand gripping the blueprints suddenly tighten. His gaze swept over the underground entrance, and his expression visibly stiffened for a moment.
After the messenger finished speaking, he quietly stepped aside.
Alston immediately raised his hand and said in a hurry:
“There is no need to go down.”
The two guards stopped in their tracks, and one of the scribes looked at him in confusion.
“Mr. Vere, the inspection of the underground area is not yet complete.”
Alston avoided his gaze, his voice returning to a steady tone.
“The existing evidence is enough to confirm the managing party's breach of contract. Continuing the demolition and inspection will only increase the damage to the warehouse. There is no need.”
With that, he announced publicly:
“During the management period, the Castro family altered the structure and purpose of the warehouse without the owner's permission, thereby breaching the management contract.”
“As of now, the warehouse handover process is terminated. The Castro family has forfeited their management qualifications, and the warehouse along with its existing ancillary facilities are to be returned to the Rosalinds immediately.”
“As for the underground space, it will be handled by the Rosalinds at their own discretion after they take over the warehouse.”
After reading the ruling, Alston immediately had the two scribes organize the on-site records.
Before long, the Golden Scale Merchant Guild's team hastily departed from the warehouse.
The outcome seemed highly favorable to the Rosalinds, but what had just transpired was far too bizarre.
An order that could make a contract inspector halt an investigation instantly would never come from an ordinary guild member.
It seemed someone was willing to let them uncover the Castros' breach of contract, but refused to let them discover the truth about the underground cultivation ground.
Celine suddenly felt a bit relieved that she hadn't delayed last night.
When Alston set out, the guild's high-ranking officials had clearly not yet had the time to fully coordinate their narrative.
Had she been even half a day later, today's inspection likely would not have happened at all.
Even if the application was eventually accepted, the person in charge of the review would probably have just walked around the empty warehouse and left a conclusion of “no anomalies found.”
Though the warehouse had been reclaimed, the secrets hidden beneath were far from over.
After the guild's people left, Alvan immediately led his men to change the locks and recount the warehouse's existing facilities.
Victor, however, was in no hurry to leave.
Standing by the warehouse door, he first glanced at the reopened underground entrance, then looked in the direction the Golden Scale Merchant Guild had gone.
The warehouse was lost, but the guild had not discovered the financial dealings between them and the Green Shade Merchant Guild.
Once he realized this, the anger on his face actually faded.
He turned to look at Celine, his eyes now holding a hint of reassessment.
“You were the one who uncovered this.”
Celine did not deny it, asking in return, “Do you have any advice for me, Mr. Castro?”
Victor sized her up, the arrogance in his eyes completely undisguised.
“You have quick reflexes, and you understand exactly which rules to exploit. Unfortunately, you seem to have chosen the wrong partner.”
Celine looked at him. “What are you trying to say?”
Victor took two steps closer to her and lowered his voice. “Is a family that has already fallen to ruin worth so much effort? What did the Rosalinds give you?”
“Leora could barely even protect the family's very last warehouse. Even if you got lucky and won today, it doesn't change the fact that the Rosalinds are in decline.”
“If you are looking for a backer in the Red Kite City-States, there's no need to tie yourself to a sinking ship.”
Celine understood his meaning and smiled, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh? It sounds like you're trying to recruit me.”
“Why not?”
Victor admitted frankly, spreading his hands. “The Castros are currently looking for a suitable Northern Route agent. You have the ability, and you're willing to take risks. You're exactly the kind of person we need.”
“Whatever the Rosalinds can give you, the Castros can give you more.”
“Status, convoys, funding, and even the profits once the Northern Route reopens—everything is negotiable.”
Celine let out a soft chuckle and said, “Mr. Castro, you couldn't even keep hold of a warehouse you were managing for someone else, yet you want me to entrust my future to you?”
The smile on Victor's face faded slightly, but he showed no anger at being pricked where it hurt, saying contemptuously:
“You seem to misunderstand one thing. The Castros lost this warehouse not because the Rosalinds had the ability to take it back, but because the Golden Scale Merchant Guild recognized that contract.”
“In the Red Kite City-States, contracts are enforced because the Golden Scale Merchant Guild is willing to uphold them. If the guild hadn't intervened today, what could the Rosalinds have done, even if they knew something was hidden beneath the warehouse?”
“Send a few elderly servants to drive us out? Or hold up that rose family crest that no one respects anymore and weep as they beg the Castros to return their property?”
Not far away, Alvan was directing the guards to take inventory of the warehouse. His fingers tightened around the ledger.
Victor's words were harsh, but they were not entirely without merit.
Today's Rosalinds were left with nothing but a ruined family name, and they had nearly had their very last warehouse taken from them.
The Castros, on the other hand, possessed power and ample funding, and they held the upper hand in the competition for the Northern Route agency.
No matter how one looked at it, accepting the Castros' invitation seemed to be the safer choice.
Victor took in Alvan's reaction and said slowly:
“Whose name is on the deed has never been the most important thing. What matters is who can use it to gain profit, and who has the power to keep those profits in their own hands.”
Celine watched him for a moment, then actually nodded in agreement.
“In a way, I do appreciate the Castros' style.”
“For your own benefit, you're willing to exploit contracts and use others. At least you're honest enough not to make up noble excuses while stealing from people.”
The coldness in Victor's eyes softened slightly, and his attitude shifted accordingly.
“Since you understand, things are much simpler.”
Victor took a step closer to Celine and formally extended the invitation.
“As long as you join the Castros, we can give you far more than everything you won for the Rosalinds today.”
Celine, however, shook her head and said unhurriedly:
“I wonder if you've ever heard a certain saying, Mr. Castro.”
Victor looked at her. “What saying?”
“True investors are never blinded by short-term profits in front of them.”
“They prefer to buy into the future dividends that others have yet to see, right when the price is at its lowest.”
The smile on Victor's face slowly vanished as he understood her subtext.
In Celine's eyes, the powerful Castros were merely chips whose price had already been driven up high.
And the Rosalinds, who had hit rock bottom, were the investment she truly valued.
“You think the Rosalinds still have a future?”
“Futures aren't built on thoughts alone,” Celine said, withdrawing her gaze. “But today, the Castros lost a warehouse, and the Rosalinds reclaimed it. At least in this round, I'm one step closer to the future I want.”
Victor fell silent for a moment, his gaze turning completely cold.
“Very well. Since you've decided to bet your chips on the Rosalinds, I hope you'll still be this confident when the results of the Northern Route agency are announced.”
He turned to walk out. As he passed by Alvan, Victor paused and said coldly:
“Pass a message to Leora for me. What the Castros lost today, we will take back from the Rosalinds twofold sooner or later.”
Before Alvan could answer, Celine spoke up calmly from behind:
“We'll see if you even get a second chance.”
Victor paused slightly, let out a cold snort, and led Hodge and the others out of the warehouse district.
Rate on N.U.
